Systems and methods for incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can acquire an image that depicts at least one character. A set of pixels, within the image, through which the at least one character is depicted can be identified. At least one linear portion, within the image, can be identified based on the set of pixels. For each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective first confidence score representing a respective first likelihood that a respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character can be determined.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present technology relates to the field of multimedia processing. More particularly, the present technology relates to techniques for incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images.

BACKGROUND

Today, people often utilize computing devices (or systems) for a wide variety of purposes. Users can use their computing devices to, for example, interact with one another, access content, share content, and create content. In some cases, users can utilize their computing devices to generate, download, view, access, or otherwise interact with multimedia or media content, such as images, videos, audio, and text. For example, users of a social networking system (or service) can load, stream, display, access, and/or share media content items by utilizing their computing devices.

In some cases, media content can be processed, such as to produce or generate additional information (e.g., metadata) associated with the media content. In one instance, an image (including a video image frame) can be processed, such as to identify or recognize text, characters, faces, or other objects depicted or represented in the image. However, conventional approaches specifically arising in the realm of computer technology can, in some cases, require a significant amount of computing resources (e.g., via one or more servers) to perform media processing. Moreover, such conventional approaches can also require a significant amount of time and finances. Conventional approaches for performing such media processing can be inaccurate, inconvenient, or inefficient. Accordingly, conventional approaches can create challenges for or reduce the overall experience associated with utilizing, accessing, or interacting with media content such as images.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the present disclosure can include systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media configured to acquire an image that depicts at least one character. A set of pixels, within the image, through which the at least one character is depicted can be identified. At least one linear portion, within the image, can be identified based on the set of pixels. For each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective first confidence score representing a respective first likelihood that a respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character can be determined.

In an embodiment, a language model can be utilized to determine, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective second confidence score representing a respective second likelihood that the respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character.

In an embodiment, the respective first confidence score and the respective second confidence score can be combined to produce a respective overall confidence score for the respective sub-portion. It can be determined that the respective overall confidence score at least meets a specified threshold value. The respective sub-portion can be recognized as being associated with the at least one character.

In an embodiment, the language model can be associated with a defined plurality of character sequences.

In an embodiment, at least one location, within the image, of the at least one character can be determined based on one or more coordinates, within the image, of the respective sub-portion.

In an embodiment, identifying the set of pixels can include analyzing, for each pixel in the image, a respective image patch larger than and including a respective pixel. The respective image patch can be analyzed to determine whether the respective pixel forms at least part of the at least one character depicted in the image. The respective pixel can be included in the set of pixels when the respective pixel is determined to form at least part of the at least one character.

In an embodiment, identifying the at least one linear portion can be based on identifying at least one of a top portion above the at least one linear portion or a bottom portion below the at least one linear portion.

In an embodiment, identifying the at least one linear portion can utilize a text heat-map.

In an embodiment, determining, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, the respective first confidence score can be based on analyzing at least one of a left sub-portion adjacent to the respective sub-portion or a right sub-portion adjacent to the respective sub-portion.

In an embodiment, determining, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, the respective first confidence score can utilize a character heat-map.

It should be appreciated that many other features, applications, embodiments, and/or variations of the disclosed technology will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the following detailed description. Additional and/or alternative implementations of the structures, systems, non-transitory computer readable media, and methods described herein can be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosed technology.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system including an example incremental character recognition module configured to facilitate providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example pixel identification module configured to facilitate providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2B illustrates an example linear portion identification module configured to facilitate providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2C illustrates an example character determination module configured to facilitate providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2D illustrates an example language model module configured to facilitate providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example scenario associated with providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method associated with providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method associated with providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a network diagram of an example system including an example social networking system that can be utilized in various scenarios, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a computer system or computing device that can be utilized in various scenarios, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The figures depict various embodiments of the disclosed technology for purposes of illustration only, wherein the figures use like reference numerals to identify like elements. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated in the figures can be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosed technology described herein. It should be understood that all examples herein are provided for illustrative purposes and that there can be many variations or other possibilities associated with the disclosed technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Incremental Character Recognition to Recognize Characters in Images

People use computing systems (or devices) for various purposes. Users can utilize their computing systems to establish connections, engage in communications, interact with one another, and/or interact with various types of content. In some cases, computing devices can include or correspond to cameras capable of capturing or recording media content, such as images (which can include one or more image frames combinable to form a video). In some instances, computing devices can be utilized by users to view, edit, upload, post, and/or share media content items such as images. For example, users can access a media content collection and/or a social networking system (or service) to view or otherwise interact with media content. In this example, users can access or view images and other media content provided via albums, profiles, feeds, timelines, and/or pages, etc.

In many cases, conventional approaches specifically arising in the realm of computer technology can perform media processing with respect to at least some media content items. For instance, media content can be processed to generate or produce information (e.g., metadata) related to or associated with the media content. In one example, an image can be processed in order to determine, identify, or recognize text, characters, faces, or other objects depicted, represented, or shown in the image. However, conventional approaches specifically arising in the realm of computer technology can, in many instances, require a significant amount of resources when performing media processing. Such conventional approaches can require significant amounts of computer processing power, time, and/or investment. Such conventional approaches can, in many cases, provide insufficiently accurate results. Thus, conventional approaches for performing such media processing can be inconvenient, inefficient, or unreliable.

Due to these or other concerns, conventional approaches specifically arising in the realm of computer technology can be disadvantageous or problematic. Therefore, an improved approach rooted in computer technology that overcomes the foregoing and other disadvantages associated with conventional approaches can be beneficial. Based on computer technology, the disclosed technology can provide incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images. Various embodiments of the present disclosure can acquire an image that depicts at least one character. A set of pixels, within the image, through which the at least one character is depicted can be identified. At least one linear portion, within the image, can be identified based on the set of pixels. For each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective first confidence score representing a respective first likelihood that a respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character can be determined. It is contemplated that there can be many variations and/or other possibilities associated with the disclosed technology.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 including an example incremental character recognition module 102 configured to facilitate providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the incremental character recognition module 102 can include an image acquisition module 104, a pixel identification module 106, a linear portion identification module 108, a character determination module 110, and a language model module 112. In some instances, the example system 100 can include at least one data store 120. The components (e.g., modules, elements, etc.) shown in this figure and all figures herein are exemplary only, and other implementations may include additional, fewer, integrated, or different components. Some components may not be shown so as not to obscure relevant details.

In some embodiments, the incremental character recognition module 102 can be implemented, in part or in whole, as software, hardware, or any combination thereof. In general, a module as discussed herein can be associated with software, hardware, or any combination thereof. In some implementations, one or more functions, tasks, and/or operations of modules can be carried out or performed by software routines, software processes, hardware, and/or any combination thereof. In some cases, the incremental character recognition module 102 can be implemented, in part or in whole, as software running on one or more computing devices or systems, such as on a user or client computing device. For example, the incremental character recognition module 102 or at least a portion thereof can be implemented as or within an application (e.g., app), a program, an applet, or an operating system, etc., running on a user computing device or a client computing system, such as the user device 610 of FIG. 6. In another example, the incremental character recognition module 102 or at least a portion thereof can be implemented using one or more computing devices or systems which can include one or more servers, such as network servers or cloud servers. In some instances, the incremental character recognition module 102 can, in part or in whole, be implemented within or configured to operate in conjunction with a social networking system (or service), such as the social networking system 630 of FIG. 6. It should be appreciated that there can be many variations or other possibilities.

The disclosed technology can perform incremental character recognition on images, such as to recognize text, symbols, and/or character(s) overlaid on or depicted in the images. Incremental character recognition can include a plurality of image processing (e.g., computational) stages or steps applied to an image, which can produce a plurality of states. In some embodiments, for a particular image, the image processing stages can be performed by multiple computing systems, such as by server computing systems and/or client computing systems. In some implementations, a first image processing stage can be performed by a server computing system(s) while a second image processing stage can be performed by a client computing system(s). In some embodiments, a particular computing system can perform the plurality of image processing stages for the particular image. Many variations are possible.

The image acquisition module 104 can be configured to facilitate acquiring an image that depicts at least one character. In some embodiments, the image acquisition module 104 can identify, receive, retrieve, or otherwise acquire an image (which can include a video image frame) on which text or other characters are overlaid. In one instance, the image can correspond to a meme. In another instance, the image can include a caption, description, phrase, or word that is overlaid onto or displayed in the image. In some cases, the disclosed technology can be utilized to detect or filter out images with offensive or inappropriate language. In some instances, the disclosed technology can be utilized to identify and/or understand memes.

In some cases, the image acquisition module 104 can identify, receive, retrieve, and/or acquire a plurality of images provided to a social networking system and/or a media content collection. For example, multiple images at an online photo album can be acquired by the image acquisition module 104. In another example, the acquired image can correspond to an image being viewed or accessed by a user of the media content collection or the social networking system. In this example, the user can utilize a (client-side) computing system or device to cause the image to be displayed or presented. As a result, the image acquisition module 104 can identify, select, or acquire the image. In some implementations, the image acquisition module 104 can identify, select, or acquire images that are being viewed or accessed via a media album, feed, timeline, wall, profile, and/or page. It should be appreciated that all examples herein are provided for illustrative purposes and that there can be many variations or other possibilities.

Further, the pixel identification module 106 can be configured to facilitate identifying a set of pixels, within the acquired image, through which the at least one character is depicted. For instance, the pixel identification module 106 can determine whether or not a particular pixel in the image is part of or helps to form the at least one character depicted in the image. In some cases, the pixel identification module 106 can detect whether or not (a portion of) the at least one character is present at each pixel. More details regarding the pixel identification module 106 will be provided below with reference to FIG. 2A.

Moreover, the linear portion identification module 108 can be configured to facilitate identifying at least one linear portion, within the acquired image, based on the set of pixels. For example, the linear portion identification module 108 can identify one or more lines (e.g., horizontally linear areas) of text or characters depicted in the image. In some cases, the linear portion identification module 108 can identify the at least one linear portion based on which pixels are identified as being a part of or helping to form the at least one character depicted in the image. The linear portion identification module 108 will be discussed in more detail below with reference to FIG. 2B.

Furthermore, the character determination module 110 can be configured to facilitate determining, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective first confidence score representing a respective first likelihood that a respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character. The character determination module 110 will be discussed in more detail below with reference to FIG. 2C.

Moreover, the language model module 112 can be configured to facilitate utilizing a language model to determine, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective second confidence score representing a respective second likelihood that the respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character. More details relating to the language model module 112 will be provided below with reference to FIG. 2D.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the incremental character recognition module 102 can be configured to communicate and/or operate with the at least one data store 120, as shown in the example system 100. The at least one data store 120 can be configured to store and maintain various types of data. In some implementations, the at least one data store 120 can store information associated with the social networking system (e.g., the social networking system 630 of FIG. 6). The information associated with the social networking system can include data about users, social connections, social interactions, locations, geo-fenced areas, maps, places, events, pages, groups, posts, communications, content, feeds, account settings, privacy settings, a social graph, and various other types of data. In some implementations, the at least one data store 120 can store information associated with users, such as user identifiers, user information, profile information, user locations, user specified settings, content produced or posted by users, and various other types of user data. In some embodiments, the at least one data store 120 can store information that is utilized by the incremental character recognition module 102. Again, it is contemplated that there can be many variations or other possibilities associated with the disclosed technology.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example pixel identification module 202 configured to facilitate providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the pixel identification module 106 of FIG. 1 can be implemented as the example pixel identification module 202. As shown in FIG. 2A, the pixel identification module 202 can include an image patch module 204 and a pixel analysis module 206.

As discussed previously, the pixel identification module 202 can be configured to facilitate identifying a set of pixels, within an acquired image, through which at least one character is depicted. The pixel identification module 202 can, for example, determine whether or not a particular pixel in the image is part of, at least partially represents, or helps to form the at least one character depicted in the image. In some instances, the pixel identification module 106 can detect whether or not (a portion of) the at least one character is present at each pixel.

In some implementations, the pixel identification module 202 can utilize the image patch module 204 to facilitate identifying the set of pixels. The image patch module 204 can virtually and/or temporarily generate a respective image patch for each pixel in the image. In some cases, for each pixel in the image, the image patch module 204 can generate a respective image patch such that the respective image patch for a respective pixel is larger than and includes the respective pixel. In one instance, for a given pixel, the image patch module 204 can generate an X-pixel by X-pixel (e.g., 60-pixel by 60-pixel) image patch in which the given pixel is centered. It should be appreciated that any suitable number of pixels can be utilized for the image patch. In another instance, a particular pixel can correspond to a corner pixel of the image. As such, in this instance, the image patch module 204 can generate the respective image patch of the particular pixel such that the particular pixel is also a corner pixel of its respective image patch. Moreover, in some embodiments, the image patch module 204 can scale the image up or down, and then generate image patches for all pixels in the scaled image, such that characters of different sizes can be detectable. Many variations are possible.

In some embodiments, the pixel identification module 202 can utilize the pixel analysis module 206 to facilitate analyzing the respective image patch. The pixel analysis module 206 can analyze a respective image patch for a respective pixel in order to determine whether the respective pixel forms at least part of the at least one character depicted in the image. In some cases, the pixel analysis module 206 can utilize image processing (e.g., line detection, edge detection, etc.) to determine whether the respective pixel, relative to the other portions of the respective image patch, has at least a threshold likelihood (e.g., confidence score/metric) of being part of the at least one character. The pixel analysis module 206 can then, for example, incorporate or include the respective pixel into the set of pixels when the respective pixel is determined, by the pixel analysis module 206, to form at least part of the at least one character. Again, it should be understood that all examples herein are provided for illustrative purposes and that there can be many variations or other possibilities associated with the disclosed technology.

FIG. 2B illustrates an example linear portion identification module 222 configured to facilitate providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the linear portion identification module 108 of FIG. 1 can be implemented as the example linear portion identification module 222. As shown in FIG. 2B, the example linear portion identification module 222 can include a top portion module 224, a bottom portion module 226, and a text heat-map module 228.

The linear portion identification module 222 can be configured to facilitate identifying at least one linear portion, within an acquired image, based on an identified set of pixels, as discussed above. For instance, the linear portion identification module 222 can identify one or more lines (e.g., horizontally linear areas) of text or characters depicted in the image. In some cases, the linear portion identification module 222 can identify the at least one linear portion based on which pixels are identified as being a part of or helping to form at least one character depicted in the image.

In some embodiments, the linear portion identification module 222 can utilize the top portion module 224 to facilitate identifying a top portion above the at least one linear portion. In some implementations, the linear portion identification module 222 can utilize the bottom portion module 226 to facilitate identifying a bottom portion below the at least one linear portion. For example, if the top portion module 224 determines that there is at least a first specified threshold likelihood (e.g., confidence score) that the top portion exists and if the bottom portion module 226 determines that there is at least a second specified threshold likelihood (e.g., confidence score) that the bottom portion exists, then the at least one linear portion can be identified.

Moreover, in some implementations, the linear portion identification module 222 can utilize the text heat-map module 228 to generate a text heat-map to facilitate identifying the at least one linear portion. The text heat-map module 228 can generate the text heat-map based on determined probabilities (e.g., calculated likelihoods, computed confidence scores, etc.) that one or more characters or portions thereof are depicted in certain image portions. In some instances, the text heat-map module 228 can utilize the determined locations of the top portion and/or the bottom portion to generate the text heat-map. The text heat-map can then be utilized to infer which areas in the image contain the at least one linear portion. Again, many variations are possible.

FIG. 2C illustrates an example character determination module 242 configured to facilitate providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the character determination module 110 of FIG. 1 can be implemented as the example character determination module 242. As shown in FIG. 2C, the example character determination module 242 can include a sub-portion module 244 and a character heat-map module 246.

As discussed, the character determination module 242 can facilitate determining, for each sub-portion (e.g., each vertical column/strip of pixels) within at least one identified linear portion in an acquired image, a respective first confidence score representing a respective first likelihood that a respective sub-portion depicts at least one character in the acquired image. In some embodiments, determining, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, the respective first confidence score can be based on analyzing at least one of a left sub-portion adjacent to the respective sub-portion or a right sub-portion adjacent to the respective sub-portion. The character determination module 242 can utilize the sub-portion module 244 to analyze (the respective sub-portion as well as) the left sub-portion adjacent to the respective sub-portion and/or the right sub-portion adjacent to the respective sub-portion. For instance, for each vertical column (e.g., single-pixel-width column, multiple-pixel-width column, etc.) of the at least one linear portion, the sub-portion module 244 can perform image processing with respect to each vertical column and its respective left and right areas. Based on the image processing applied to each vertical column as well as its left and right areas as context, the sub-portion module 244 can determine whether a particular vertical column represents or depicts a particular recognized character. In some cases, the particular vertical column can correspond to a (horizontal) center of the particular recognized character.

Furthermore, in some implementations, the character determination module 242 can utilize the character heat-map module 246 to generate a character heat-map to facilitate determining, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, the respective first confidence score. The character heat-map module 246 can generate the character heat-map based on determined probabilities (e.g., calculated likelihoods, computed confidence scores, etc.) that various characters are represented at various sub-portions. In some instances, the character heat-map can then be utilized to infer which character(s) is depicted via which sub-portion(s) of the at least one linear portion. As discussed above, it should be understood that many variations associated with the disclosed technology are possible.

FIG. 2D illustrates an example language model module 262 configured to facilitate providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the language model module 112 of FIG. 1 can be implemented as the example language model module 262. As shown in FIG. 2D, the example language model module 262 can include a defined character sequence module 264, an overall confidence module 266, and a location module 268.

The language model module 262 can utilize a language model to determine, for each sub-portion within at least one linear portion of an acquired image, a respective second confidence score representing a respective second likelihood that the respective sub-portion depicts at least one character in the image, as discussed previously. In some embodiments, the language model module 262 can utilize the defined character sequence module 264 to facilitate determining the respective second confidence score for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion. The defined character sequence module 264 can, for instance, enable the language model to be associated with a defined plurality of character sequences (e.g., words, phrases, common/popular/trending character sequences, etc.). In some instances, the confidence for recognizing a particular character can be increased when the particular character and one or more adjacent characters are determined to have at least a threshold likelihood of corresponding to a particular character sequence in the defined plurality of character sequences.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the language model module 262 can utilize the overall confidence module 266 to facilitate combining a respective first confidence score and a respective second confidence score to produce a respective overall confidence score for a respective sub-portion of at least one linear portion in the image. In some cases, the respective first confidence score and/or the respective second confidence score can be weighted appropriately by the overall confidence module 266. In one example, the overall confidence module 266 can further determine that the respective overall confidence score at least meets a specified threshold value. In this example, based on the respective overall confidence score at least meeting the specified threshold value, the overall confidence module 266 can recognize the respective sub-portion as being associated with the at least one character.

Additionally, in some implementations, the language model module 262 can utilize the location module 268 to facilitate determining at least one location, within the image, of the at least one character. For example, the at least one location of the at least one character can be determined by the location module 268 based on one or more coordinates, within the image, of the respective sub-portion. Again, it is contemplated that all examples herein are provided for illustrative purposes and that there can be many variations or other possibilities associated with the disclosed technology.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example scenario 300 associated with providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the example scenario 300, an image 302 can be acquired. The image 302 can depict or include at least one character (e.g., “ABC123” and “abc”). The acquisition or input of the image 302 can correspond to a first state of the incremental character recognition provided by the disclosed technology. A first incremental image processing stage or computational step of the disclosed technology can include text detection 304. During text detection 304, a set of pixels through which the at least one character is depicted can be identified. The text detection 304 step produces a second state, where a text heat-map 306 is produced based on the identified pixels. As shown, the text heat-map 306 can be provided such that the top portion of a particular line of text (“ABC123”) is presented via a first color, the bottom portion of the particular line of text (“ABC123”) is presented via a second color, and the area corresponding to the particular line of text (“ABC123”) is presented via a third color. The next incremental processing stage can include line finding 308. In some implementations, line finding 308 can utilize the text heat-map 306 to identify at least one linear portion (e.g., a line of text). The disclosed technology can increase a confidence metric/score for identifying the at least one linear portion based on the determined presence of the top and/or bottom portions. The example scenario 300 illustrates the particular line of text (“ABC123”) 310 being identified by the disclosed technology, at a third state. Although not explicitly shown in this example scenario 300, other lines of text (e.g., “abc”) can be identified as well.

Continuing with the example scenario 300, the next incremental processing stage can include character recognition 312. Character recognition 312 applied to the particular line of text (“ABC123”) 310 can produce a character heat-map 314, at a fourth stage. The character heat-map 314 can provide computed probabilities (e.g., confidence scores, likelihoods, etc.) that each sub-portion or vertical pixel column of the particular line of text (“ABC123”) 310 represents or depicts various characters. In this example, the character heat-map 314 can utilize a vertical axis that represents various defined characters, such as numerical digits and the English alphabet with upper and lower case letters (e.g., 1, 2, 3 , . . . , 0, A, a, B, b, C, c, Z, z, etc.). In this example, the character heat-map 314 can also utilize a horizontal axis that corresponds to the horizontal positions of each sub-portion (e.g., each vertical pixel column) in the at least one linear portion (e.g., line of text “ABC123”). The character heat-map 314 can, for instance, provide a brighter dot where there is a higher probability that a given vertical pixel column of the particular line of text (“ABC123”) 310 depicts a certain character. Additionally, the next stage can include language model utilization 316. Language model utilization 316 can further increase the overall confidence of recognizing characters in the image. In this example scenario 300, a successful recognition 318 of the characters “ABC123” can be produced, at a fifth state. As discussed previously, it should be appreciated that all examples herein are provided for illustrative purposes and that many variations associated with the disclosed technology are possible.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method 400 associated with providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be appreciated that there can be additional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in similar or alternative orders, or in parallel, within the scope of the various embodiments unless otherwise stated.

At block 402, the example method 400 can acquire an image that depicts at least one character. At block 404, the example method 400 can identify a set of pixels, within the image, through which the at least one character is depicted. At block 406, the example method 400 can identify at least one linear portion, within the image, based on the set of pixels. At block 408, the example method 400 can determine, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective first confidence score representing a respective first likelihood that a respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method 500 associated with providing incremental character recognition to recognize characters in images, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As discussed, it should be understood that there can be additional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in similar or alternative orders, or in parallel, within the scope of the various embodiments unless otherwise stated.

At block 502, the example method 500 can utilize a language model to determine, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective second confidence score representing a respective second likelihood that the respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character. At block 504, the example method 500 can combine the respective first confidence score and the respective second confidence score to produce a respective overall confidence score for the respective sub-portion. At block 506, the example method 500 can determine that the respective overall confidence score at least meets a specified threshold value. At block 508, the example method 500 can recognize the respective sub-portion as being associated with the at least one character.

It is contemplated that there can be many other uses, applications, features, possibilities, and/or variations associated with various embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, users can, in some cases, choose whether or not to opt-in to utilize the disclosed technology. The disclosed technology can, for instance, also ensure that various privacy settings, preferences, and configurations are maintained and can prevent private information from being divulged. In another example, various embodiments of the present disclosure can learn, improve, and/or be refined over time.

Social Networking System —Example Implementation

FIG. 6 illustrates a network diagram of an example system 600 that can be utilized in various scenarios, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 600 includes one or more user devices 610, one or more external systems 620, a social networking system (or service) 630, and a network 650. In an embodiment, the social networking service, provider, and/or system discussed in connection with the embodiments described above may be implemented as the social networking system 630. For purposes of illustration, the embodiment of the system 600, shown by FIG. 6, includes a single external system 620 and a single user device 610. However, in other embodiments, the system 600 may include more user devices 610 and/or more external systems 620. In certain embodiments, the social networking system 630 is operated by a social network provider, whereas the external systems 620 are separate from the social networking system 630 in that they may be operated by different entities. In various embodiments, however, the social networking system 630 and the external systems 620 operate in conjunction to provide social networking services to users (or members) of the social networking system 630. In this sense, the social networking system 630 provides a platform or backbone, which other systems, such as external systems 620, may use to provide social networking services and functionalities to users across the Internet. In some embodiments, the social networking system 630 can include or correspond to a social media system (or service).

The user device 610 comprises one or more computing devices (or systems) that can receive input from a user and transmit and receive data via the network 650. In one embodiment, the user device 610 is a conventional computer system executing, for example, a Microsoft Windows compatible operating system (OS), Apple OS X, and/or a Linux distribution. In another embodiment, the user device 610 can be a computing device or a device having computer functionality, such as a smart-phone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a laptop computer, a wearable device (e.g., a pair of glasses, a watch, a bracelet, etc.), a camera, an appliance, etc. The user device 610 is configured to communicate via the network 650. The user device 610 can execute an application, for example, a browser application that allows a user of the user device 610 to interact with the social networking system 630. In another embodiment, the user device 610 interacts with the social networking system 630 through an application programming interface (API) provided by the native operating system of the user device 610, such as iOS and ANDROID. The user device 610 is configured to communicate with the external system 620 and the social networking system 630 via the network 650, which may comprise any combination of local area and/or wide area networks, using wired and/or wireless communication systems.

In one embodiment, the network 650 uses standard communications technologies and protocols. Thus, the network 650 can include links using technologies such as Ethernet, 802.11 (e.g., Wi-Fi), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G, CDMA, GSM, LTE, digital subscriber line (DSL), etc. Similarly, the networking protocols used on the network 650 can include multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), and the like. The data exchanged over the network 650 can be represented using technologies and/or formats including hypertext markup language (HTML) and extensible markup language (XML). In addition, all or some links can be encrypted using conventional encryption technologies such as secure sockets layer (SSL), transport layer security (TLS), and Internet Protocol security (IPsec).

In one embodiment, the user device 610 may display content from the external system 620 and/or from the social networking system 630 by processing a markup language document 614 received from the external system 620 and from the social networking system 630 using a browser application 612. The markup language document 614 identifies content and one or more instructions describing formatting or presentation of the content. By executing the instructions included in the markup language document 614, the browser application 612 displays the identified content using the format or presentation described by the markup language document 614. For example, the markup language document 614 includes instructions for generating and displaying a web page having multiple frames that include text and/or image data retrieved from the external system 620 and the social networking system 630. In various embodiments, the markup language document 614 comprises a data file including extensible markup language (XML) data, extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML) data, or other markup language data. Additionally, the markup language document 614 may include JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data, JSON with padding (JSONP), and JavaScript data to facilitate data-interchange between the external system 620 and the user device 610. The browser application 612 on the user device 610 may use a JavaScript compiler to decode the markup language document 614.

The markup language document 614 may also include, or link to, applications or application frameworks such as FLASH™ or Unity™ applications, the Silverlight™ application framework, etc.

In one embodiment, the user device 610 also includes one or more cookies 616 including data indicating whether a user of the user device 610 is logged into the social networking system 630, which may enable modification of the data communicated from the social networking system 630 to the user device 610.

The external system 620 includes one or more web servers that include one or more web pages 622 a, 622 b, which are communicated to the user device 610 using the network 650. The external system 620 is separate from the social networking system 630. For example, the external system 620 is associated with a first domain, while the social networking system 630 is associated with a separate social networking domain. Web pages 622 a, 622 b, included in the external system 620, comprise markup language documents 614 identifying content and including instructions specifying formatting or presentation of the identified content.

The social networking system 630 includes one or more computing devices for a social network, including a plurality of users, and providing users of the social network with the ability to communicate and interact with other users of the social network. In some instances, the social network can be represented by a graph, i.e., a data structure including edges and nodes. Other data structures can also be used to represent the social network, including but not limited to databases, objects, classes, meta elements, files, or any other data structure. The social networking system 630 may be administered, managed, or controlled by an operator. The operator of the social networking system 630 may be a human being, an automated application, or a series of applications for managing content, regulating policies, and collecting usage metrics within the social networking system 630. Any type of operator may be used.

Users may join the social networking system 630 and then add connections to any number of other users of the social networking system 630 to whom they desire to be connected. As used herein, the term “friend” refers to any other user of the social networking system 630 to whom a user has formed a connection, association, or relationship via the social networking system 630. For example, in an embodiment, if users in the social networking system 630 are represented as nodes in the social graph, the term “friend” can refer to an edge formed between and directly connecting two user nodes.

Connections may be added explicitly by a user or may be automatically created by the social networking system 630 based on common characteristics of the users (e.g., users who are alumni of the same educational institution). For example, a first user specifically selects a particular other user to be a friend. Connections in the social networking system 630 are usually in both directions, but need not be, so the terms “user” and “friend” depend on the frame of reference. Connections between users of the social networking system 630 are usually bilateral (“two-way”), or “mutual,” but connections may also be unilateral, or “one-way.” For example, if Bob and Joe are both users of the social networking system 630 and connected to each other, Bob and Joe are each other's connections. If, on the other hand, Bob wishes to connect to Joe to view data communicated to the social networking system 630 by Joe, but Joe does not wish to form a mutual connection, a unilateral connection may be established. The connection between users may be a direct connection; however, some embodiments of the social networking system 630 allow the connection to be indirect via one or more levels of connections or degrees of separation.

In addition to establishing and maintaining connections between users and allowing interactions between users, the social networking system 630 provides users with the ability to take actions on various types of items supported by the social networking system 630. These items may include groups or networks (i.e., social networks of people, entities, and concepts) to which users of the social networking system 630 may belong, events or calendar entries in which a user might be interested, computer-based applications that a user may use via the social networking system 630, transactions that allow users to buy or sell items via services provided by or through the social networking system 630, and interactions with advertisements that a user may perform on or off the social networking system 630. These are just a few examples of the items upon which a user may act on the social networking system 630, and many others are possible. A user may interact with anything that is capable of being represented in the social networking system 630 or in the external system 620, separate from the social networking system 630, or coupled to the social networking system 630 via the network 650.

The social networking system 630 is also capable of linking a variety of entities. For example, the social networking system 630 enables users to interact with each other as well as external systems 620 or other entities through an API, a web service, or other communication channels. The social networking system 630 generates and maintains the “social graph” comprising a plurality of nodes interconnected by a plurality of edges. Each node in the social graph may represent an entity that can act on another node and/or that can be acted on by another node. The social graph may include various types of nodes. Examples of types of nodes include users, non-person entities, content items, web pages, groups, activities, messages, concepts, and any other things that can be represented by an object in the social networking system 630. An edge between two nodes in the social graph may represent a particular kind of connection, or association, between the two nodes, which may result from node relationships or from an action that was performed by one of the nodes on the other node. In some cases, the edges between nodes can be weighted. The weight of an edge can represent an attribute associated with the edge, such as a strength of the connection or association between nodes. Different types of edges can be provided with different weights. For example, an edge created when one user “likes” another user may be given one weight, while an edge created when a user befriends another user may be given a different weight.

As an example, when a first user identifies a second user as a friend, an edge in the social graph is generated connecting a node representing the first user and a second node representing the second user. As various nodes relate or interact with each other, the social networking system 630 modifies edges connecting the various nodes to reflect the relationships and interactions.

The social networking system 630 also includes user-generated content, which enhances a user's interactions with the social networking system 630. User-generated content may include anything a user can add, upload, send, or “post” to the social networking system 630. For example, a user communicates posts to the social networking system 630 from a user device 610. Posts may include data such as status updates or other textual data, location information, images such as photos, videos, links, music or other similar data and/or media. Content may also be added to the social networking system 630 by a third party. Content “items” are represented as objects in the social networking system 630. In this way, users of the social networking system 630 are encouraged to communicate with each other by posting text and content items of various types of media through various communication channels. Such communication increases the interaction of users with each other and increases the frequency with which users interact with the social networking system 630.

The social networking system 630 includes a web server 632, an API request server 634, a user profile store 636, a connection store 638, an action logger 640, an activity log 642, and an authorization server 644. In an embodiment of the invention, the social networking system 630 may include additional, fewer, or different components for various applications. Other components, such as network interfaces, security mechanisms, load balancers, failover servers, management and network operations consoles, and the like are not shown so as to not obscure the details of the system.

The user profile store 636 maintains information about user accounts, including biographic, demographic, and other types of descriptive information, such as work experience, educational history, hobbies or preferences, location, and the like that has been declared by users or inferred by the social networking system 630. This information is stored in the user profile store 636 such that each user is uniquely identified. The social networking system 630 also stores data describing one or more connections between different users in the connection store 638. The connection information may indicate users who have similar or common work experience, group memberships, hobbies, or educational history. Additionally, the social networking system 630 includes user-defined connections between different users, allowing users to specify their relationships with other users. For example, user-defined connections allow users to generate relationships with other users that parallel the users' real-life relationships, such as friends, co-workers, partners, and so forth. Users may select from predefined types of connections, or define their own connection types as needed. Connections with other nodes in the social networking system 630, such as non-person entities, buckets, cluster centers, images, interests, pages, external systems, concepts, and the like are also stored in the connection store 638.

The social networking system 630 maintains data about objects with which a user may interact. To maintain this data, the user profile store 636 and the connection store 638 store instances of the corresponding type of objects maintained by the social networking system 630. Each object type has information fields that are suitable for storing information appropriate to the type of object. For example, the user profile store 636 contains data structures with fields suitable for describing a user's account and information related to a user's account. When a new object of a particular type is created, the social networking system 630 initializes a new data structure of the corresponding type, assigns a unique object identifier to it, and begins to add data to the object as needed. This might occur, for example, when a user becomes a user of the social networking system 630, the social networking system 630 generates a new instance of a user profile in the user profile store 636, assigns a unique identifier to the user account, and begins to populate the fields of the user account with information provided by the user.

The connection store 638 includes data structures suitable for describing a user's connections to other users, connections to external systems 620 or connections to other entities. The connection store 638 may also associate a connection type with a user's connections, which may be used in conjunction with the user's privacy setting to regulate access to information about the user. In an embodiment of the invention, the user profile store 636 and the connection store 638 may be implemented as a federated database.

Data stored in the connection store 638, the user profile store 636, and the activity log 642 enables the social networking system 630 to generate the social graph that uses nodes to identify various objects and edges connecting nodes to identify relationships between different objects. For example, if a first user establishes a connection with a second user in the social networking system 630, user accounts of the first user and the second user from the user profile store 636 may act as nodes in the social graph. The connection between the first user and the second user stored by the connection store 638 is an edge between the nodes associated with the first user and the second user. Continuing this example, the second user may then send the first user a message within the social networking system 630. The action of sending the message, which may be stored, is another edge between the two nodes in the social graph representing the first user and the second user. Additionally, the message itself may be identified and included in the social graph as another node connected to the nodes representing the first user and the second user.

In another example, a first user may tag a second user in an image that is maintained by the social networking system 630 (or, alternatively, in an image maintained by another system outside of the social networking system 630). The image may itself be represented as a node in the social networking system 630. This tagging action may create edges between the first user and the second user as well as create an edge between each of the users and the image, which is also a node in the social graph. In yet another example, if a user confirms attending an event, the user and the event are nodes obtained from the user profile store 636, where the attendance of the event is an edge between the nodes that may be retrieved from the activity log 642. By generating and maintaining the social graph, the social networking system 630 includes data describing many different types of objects and the interactions and connections among those objects, providing a rich source of socially relevant information.

The web server 632 links the social networking system 630 to one or more user devices 610 and/or one or more external systems 620 via the network 650. The web server 632 serves web pages, as well as other web-related content, such as Java, JavaScript, Flash, XML, and so forth. The web server 632 may include a mail server or other messaging functionality for receiving and routing messages between the social networking system 630 and one or more user devices 610. The messages can be instant messages, queued messages (e.g., email), text and SMS messages, or any other suitable messaging format.

The API request server 634 allows one or more external systems 620 and user devices 610 to call access information from the social networking system 630 by calling one or more API functions. The API request server 634 may also allow external systems 620 to send information to the social networking system 630 by calling APIs. The external system 620, in one embodiment, sends an API request to the social networking system 630 via the network 650, and the API request server 634 receives the API request. The API request server 634 processes the request by calling an API associated with the API request to generate an appropriate response, which the API request server 634 communicates to the external system 620 via the network 650. For example, responsive to an API request, the API request server 634 collects data associated with a user, such as the user's connections that have logged into the external system 620, and communicates the collected data to the external system 620. In another embodiment, the user device 610 communicates with the social networking system 630 via APIs in the same manner as external systems 620.

The action logger 640 is capable of receiving communications from the web server 632 about user actions on and/or off the social networking system 630. The action logger 640 populates the activity log 642 with information about user actions, enabling the social networking system 630 to discover various actions taken by its users within the social networking system 630 and outside of the social networking system 630. Any action that a particular user takes with respect to another node on the social networking system 630 may be associated with each user's account, through information maintained in the activity log 642 or in a similar database or other data repository. Examples of actions taken by a user within the social networking system 630 that are identified and stored may include, for example, adding a connection to another user, sending a message to another user, reading a message from another user, viewing content associated with another user, attending an event posted by another user, posting an image, attempting to post an image, or other actions interacting with another user or another object. When a user takes an action within the social networking system 630, the action is recorded in the activity log 642. In one embodiment, the social networking system 630 maintains the activity log 642 as a database of entries. When an action is taken within the social networking system 630, an entry for the action is added to the activity log 642. The activity log 642 may be referred to as an action log.

Additionally, user actions may be associated with concepts and actions that occur within an entity outside of the social networking system 630, such as an external system 620 that is separate from the social networking system 630. For example, the action logger 640 may receive data describing a user's interaction with an external system 620 from the web server 632. In this example, the external system 620 reports a user's interaction according to structured actions and objects in the social graph.

Other examples of actions where a user interacts with an external system 620 include a user expressing an interest in an external system 620 or another entity, a user posting a comment to the social networking system 630 that discusses an external system 620 or a web page 622 a within the external system 620, a user posting to the social networking system 630 a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or other identifier associated with an external system 620, a user attending an event associated with an external system 620, or any other action by a user that is related to an external system 620. Thus, the activity log 642 may include actions describing interactions between a user of the social networking system 630 and an external system 620 that is separate from the social networking system 630.

The authorization server 644 enforces one or more privacy settings of the users of the social networking system 630. A privacy setting of a user determines how particular information associated with a user can be shared. The privacy setting comprises the specification of particular information associated with a user and the specification of the entity or entities with whom the information can be shared. Examples of entities with which information can be shared may include other users, applications, external systems 620, or any entity that can potentially access the information. The information that can be shared by a user comprises user account information, such as profile photos, phone numbers associated with the user, user's connections, actions taken by the user such as adding a connection, changing user profile information, and the like.

The privacy setting specification may be provided at different levels of granularity. For example, the privacy setting may identify specific information to be shared with other users; the privacy setting identifies a work phone number or a specific set of related information, such as, personal information including profile photo, home phone number, and status. Alternatively, the privacy setting may apply to all the information associated with the user. The specification of the set of entities that can access particular information can also be specified at various levels of granularity. Various sets of entities with which information can be shared may include, for example, all friends of the user, all friends of friends, all applications, or all external systems 620. One embodiment allows the specification of the set of entities to comprise an enumeration of entities. For example, the user may provide a list of external systems 620 that are allowed to access certain information. Another embodiment allows the specification to comprise a set of entities along with exceptions that are not allowed to access the information. For example, a user may allow all external systems 620 to access the user's work information, but specify a list of external systems 620 that are not allowed to access the work information. Certain embodiments call the list of exceptions that are not allowed to access certain information a “block list”. External systems 620 belonging to a block list specified by a user are blocked from accessing the information specified in the privacy setting. Various combinations of granularity of specification of information, and granularity of specification of entities, with which information is shared are possible. For example, all personal information may be shared with friends whereas all work information may be shared with friends of friends.

The authorization server 644 contains logic to determine if certain information associated with a user can be accessed by a user's friends, external systems 620, and/or other applications and entities. The external system 620 may need authorization from the authorization server 644 to access the user's more private and sensitive information, such as the user's work phone number. Based on the user's privacy settings, the authorization server 644 determines if another user, the external system 620, an application, or another entity is allowed to access information associated with the user, including information about actions taken by the user.

In some embodiments, the social networking system 630 can include an incremental character recognition module 646. The incremental character recognition module 646 can, for example, be implemented as the incremental character recognition module 102 of FIG. 1. As discussed previously, it should be appreciated that there can be many variations or other possibilities associated with the disclosed technology. For example, in some instances, the incremental character recognition module (or at least a portion thereof) can be included or implemented in the user device 610. Other features of the incremental character recognition module 646 are discussed herein in connection with the incremental character recognition module 102.

Hardware Implementation

The foregoing processes and features can be implemented by a wide variety of machine and computer system architectures and in a wide variety of network and computing environments. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a computer system 700 that may be used to implement one or more of the embodiments described herein in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The computer system 700 includes sets of instructions for causing the computer system 700 to perform the processes and features discussed herein. The computer system 700 may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the computer system 700 may operate in the capacity of a server machine or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. In an embodiment of the invention, the computer system 700 may be the social networking system 630, the user device 610, and the external system 620, or a component thereof. In an embodiment of the invention, the computer system 700 may be one server among many that constitutes all or part of the social networking system 630.

The computer system 700 includes a processor 702, a cache 704, and one or more executable modules and drivers, stored on a computer-readable medium, directed to the processes and features described herein. Additionally, the computer system 700 includes a high performance input/output (I/O) bus 706 and a standard I/O bus 708. A host bridge 710 couples processor 702 to high performance I/O bus 706, whereas I/O bus bridge 712 couples the two buses 706 and 708 to each other. A system memory 714 and one or more network interfaces 716 couple to high performance I/O bus 706. The computer system 700 may further include video memory and a display device coupled to the video memory (not shown). Mass storage 718 and I/O ports 720 couple to the standard I/O bus 708. The computer system 700 may optionally include a keyboard and pointing device, a display device, or other input/output devices (not shown) coupled to the standard I/O bus 708. Collectively, these elements are intended to represent a broad category of computer hardware systems, including but not limited to computer systems based on the x86-compatible processors manufactured by Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., and the x86-compatible processors manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., as well as any other suitable processor.

An operating system manages and controls the operation of the computer system 700, including the input and output of data to and from software applications (not shown). The operating system provides an interface between the software applications being executed on the system and the hardware components of the system. Any suitable operating system may be used, such as the LINUX Operating System, the Apple Macintosh Operating System, available from Apple Computer Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., UNIX operating systems, Microsoft® Windows® operating systems, BSD operating systems, and the like. Other implementations are possible.

The elements of the computer system 700 are described in greater detail below. In particular, the network interface 716 provides communication between the computer system 700 and any of a wide range of networks, such as an Ethernet (e.g., IEEE 802.3) network, a backplane, etc. The mass storage 718 provides permanent storage for the data and programming instructions to perform the above-described processes and features implemented by the respective computing systems identified above, whereas the system memory 714 (e.g., DRAM) provides temporary storage for the data and programming instructions when executed by the processor 702. The I/O ports 720 may be one or more serial and/or parallel communication ports that provide communication between additional peripheral devices, which may be coupled to the computer system 700.

The computer system 700 may include a variety of system architectures, and various components of the computer system 700 may be rearranged. For example, the cache 704 may be on-chip with processor 702. Alternatively, the cache 704 and the processor 702 may be packed together as a “processor module”, with processor 702 being referred to as the “processor core”. Furthermore, certain embodiments of the invention may neither require nor include all of the above components. For example, peripheral devices coupled to the standard I/O bus 708 may couple to the high performance I/O bus 706. In addition, in some embodiments, only a single bus may exist, with the components of the computer system 700 being coupled to the single bus. Moreover, the computer system 700 may include additional components, such as additional processors, storage devices, or memories.

In general, the processes and features described herein may be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module, or series of instructions referred to as “programs”. For example, one or more programs may be used to execute specific processes described herein. The programs typically comprise one or more instructions in various memory and storage devices in the computer system 700 that, when read and executed by one or more processors, cause the computer system 700 to perform operations to execute the processes and features described herein. The processes and features described herein may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit), or any combination thereof.

In one implementation, the processes and features described herein are implemented as a series of executable modules run by the computer system 700, individually or collectively in a distributed computing environment. The foregoing modules may be realized by hardware, executable modules stored on a computer-readable medium (or machine-readable medium), or a combination of both. For example, the modules may comprise a plurality or series of instructions to be executed by a processor in a hardware system, such as the processor 702. Initially, the series of instructions may be stored on a storage device, such as the mass storage 718. However, the series of instructions can be stored on any suitable computer readable storage medium. Furthermore, the series of instructions need not be stored locally, and could be received from a remote storage device, such as a server on a network, via the network interface 716. The instructions are copied from the storage device, such as the mass storage 718, into the system memory 714 and then accessed and executed by the processor 702. In various implementations, a module or modules can be executed by a processor or multiple processors in one or multiple locations, such as multiple servers in a parallel processing environment.

Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices; solid state memories; floppy and other removable disks; hard disk drives; magnetic media; optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs)); other similar non-transitory (or transitory), tangible (or non-tangible) storage medium; or any type of medium suitable for storing, encoding, or carrying a series of instructions for execution by the computer system 700 to perform any one or more of the processes and features described herein.

For purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the description. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the disclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, modules, structures, processes, features, and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the description. In other instances, functional block diagrams and flow diagrams are shown to represent data and logic flows. The components of block diagrams and flow diagrams (e.g., modules, blocks, structures, devices, features, etc.) may be variously combined, separated, removed, reordered, and replaced in a manner other than as expressly described and depicted herein.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “other embodiments”, “one series of embodiments”, “some embodiments”, “various embodiments”, or the like means that a particular feature, design, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of, for example, the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, whether or not there is express reference to an “embodiment” or the like, various features are described, which may be variously combined and included in some embodiments, but also variously omitted in other embodiments. Similarly, various features are described that may be preferences or requirements for some embodiments, but not other embodiments. Furthermore, reference in this specification to “based on” can mean “based, at least in part, on”, “based on at least a portion/part of”, “at least a portion/part of which is based on”, and/or any combination thereof.

The language used herein has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: acquiring, by a computing system, an image that depicts at least one character; identifying, by the computing system, a set of pixels, within the image, through which the at least one character is depicted, wherein the identifying the set of pixels utilizes an image patch; identifying, by the computing system, at least one linear portion, within the image, based on the set of pixels, wherein the identifying the at least one linear portion utilizes a text heat-map; determining, by the computing system, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective first confidence score representing a respective first likelihood that a respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character; combining, by the computing system, the respective first confidence score and a respective second confidence score to produce a respective overall confidence score for the respective sub-portion; determining, by the computing system, that the respective overall confidence score at least meets a specified threshold value; and recognizing, by the computing system, the respective sub-portion as being associated with the at least one character.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: utilizing a language model to determine, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, the respective second confidence score representing a respective second likelihood that the respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the language model is associated with a defined plurality of character sequences.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein at least one location, within the image, of the at least one character is determined based on one or more coordinates, within the image, of the respective sub-portion.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying the set of pixels includes analyzing, for each pixel in the image, a respective image patch larger than and including a respective pixel, wherein the respective image patch is analyzed to determine whether the respective pixel forms at least part of the at least one character depicted in the image, and wherein the respective pixel is included in the set of pixels when the respective pixel is determined to form at least part of the at least one character.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying the at least one linear portion is based on identifying at least one of a top portion above the at least one linear portion or a bottom portion below the at least one linear portion.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, the respective first confidence score is based on analyzing at least one of a left sub-portion adjacent to the respective sub-portion or a right sub-portion adjacent to the respective sub-portion.
 8. A system comprising: at least one processor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to perform: acquiring an image that depicts at least one character; identifying a set of pixels, within the image, through which the at least one character is depicted, wherein the identifying the set of pixels utilizes an image patch; identifying at least one linear portion, within the image, based on the set of pixels, wherein the identifying the at least one linear portion utilizes a text heat-map; determining, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective first confidence score representing a respective first likelihood that a respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character; combining the respective first confidence score and a respective second confidence score to produce a respective overall confidence score for the respective sub-portion; determining that the respective overall confidence score at least meets a specified threshold value; and recognizing the respective sub-portion as being associated with the at least one character.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions cause the system to further perform: utilizing a language model to determine, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, the respective second confidence score representing a respective second likelihood that the respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform a method comprising: acquiring an image that depicts at least one character; identifying a set of pixels, within the image, through which the at least one character is depicted, wherein the identifying the set of pixels utilizes an image patch; identifying at least one linear portion, within the image, based on the set of pixels, wherein the identifying the at least one linear portion utilizes a text heat-map; and determining, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, a respective first confidence score representing a respective first likelihood that a respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character; combining the respective first confidence score and a respective second confidence score to produce a respective overall confidence score for the respective sub-portion; determining that the respective overall confidence score at least meets a specified threshold value; and recognizing the respective sub-portion as being associated with the at least one character.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions cause the system to further perform: utilizing a language model to determine, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, the respective second confidence score representing a respective second likelihood that the respective sub-portion depicts the at least one character.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the language model is associated with a defined plurality of character sequences.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one location, within the image, of the at least one character is determined based on one or more coordinates, within the image, of the respective sub-portion.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein identifying the set of pixels includes analyzing, for each pixel in the image, a respective image patch larger than and including a respective pixel, wherein the respective image patch is analyzed to determine whether the respective pixel forms at least part of the at least one character depicted in the image, and wherein the respective pixel is included in the set of pixels when the respective pixel is determined to form at least part of the at least one character.
 15. The system of claim 8, wherein identifying the at least one linear portion is based on identifying at least one of a top portion above the at least one linear portion or a bottom portion below the at least one linear portion.
 16. The system of claim 8, wherein determining, for each sub-portion within the at least one linear portion, the respective first confidence score is based on analyzing at least one of a left sub-portion adjacent to the respective sub-portion or a right sub-portion adjacent to the respective sub-portion.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the language model is associated with a defined plurality of character sequences.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein at least one location, within the image, of the at least one character is determined based on one or more coordinates, within the image, of the respective sub-portion.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein identifying the set of pixels includes analyzing, for each pixel in the image, a respective image patch larger than and including a respective pixel, wherein the respective image patch is analyzed to determine whether the respective pixel forms at least part of the at least one character depicted in the image, and wherein the respective pixel is included in the set of pixels when the respective pixel is determined to form at least part of the at least one character.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein identifying the at least one linear portion is based on identifying at least one of a top portion above the at least one linear portion or a bottom portion below the at least one linear portion. 